Partings
by Maureen Painted Green
Summary: Till death do us part. Future fic. Oneshot. Absolutely JavaJunkie.


**A/N: **This basically came to me out of the blue. It's set several decades into to future. For the purposes of this story, nothing past 5.20 "How Many Kropogs to Cape Cod?" ever happened. Lorelai and Luke stayed together. April doesn't exist. Rory never dropped out of Yale. She might be married. She might not be. It doesn't really matter in this story.

**Disclaimer:** If I owned it, Season 6 would have been a different story, and June 3rd would be a national holiday.

**Note:** Do not read if you are wearing non-waterproof mascara. Or any other makeup that runs.

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"Luke". She whispered softly to the empty room, her eyes filling with tears. She turned her attention to the slightly damp sheet of paper in front of her. It had been two hours. Two hours since he had gone. Since he'd held her hand and told her he loved her for the last time. Two hours since she'd watched the last breath leave his body. Two hours that she'd been sitting here, next to her bed, trying not to look at his empty shell of a body still lying on their bed. Two hours since she'd wrapped herself in his favorite flannel shirt and donned his old blue baseball cap.

She stared at the somewhat fuzzy outline of the three words she had managed to put onto the paper. _'My dearest Luke,' _It read. She never thought she would have to write this letter. She had always thought she would be the first one to go. She couldn't bear the thought of a life without him. She couldn't find the words she needed to fill up the page. To tell him how much she loved him. She curled up inside his shirt and let the memories overwhelm her. She remembered the day Rory had been accepted to Chilton. How she had been begging him for coffee that morning. She'd called him an angel when he finally gave in. She remembered how he had been so protective of Rory around those early boyfriends. How he had selflessly built her a chuppah for her wedding to Max. How he had loaned her $30,000 so that she could finally achieve her dream of opening an inn. She remembered him coming to movie nights, town meetings, stores, even New York City with her. Not because he wanted to go, but because he loved her.

She glanced at the yellowed piece of paper on the desk beside her, where the word 'Scorpio' was still faintly visible. She twisted her wedding ring around her finger. Finally, she allowed the memories to completely overwhelm her. She curled up in the chair and cried her eyes out, and when all her tears were used up, she turned back to the letter. This time, she picked up the pen and just let it go. She was barely aware of the words as they appeared on the paper. They flowed straight from her heart to her hand, not even reaching her brain. And when she was done, she folded it up into three parts, the way her mother had taught her so many years ago. Stuffing it into a white envelope, she felt like she was going to burst from the pain. Glancing down at the desk, she picked up the tiny little slip of newspaper that had brought on her memory flood. She slipped it into the envelope with the letter, sealing the envelope as a single tear rolled down her cheek.

She climbed into bed with her husband for the last time, feeling his cold body against hers. She curled herself up beside him, and took comfort in the fact that even when he was gone, she still fit into his arms perfectly. The envelope still clenched in her hand, she took one last look at her husband's face and closed her eyes.

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"Mom?" Rory asked to the dark house. She wandered up the stairs. "Mom?". She opened the door of her mother's room. There in the dark, she saw two figures in the bed. She walked over slowly, already knowing what she would find. "No, mom." She whispered into the air. her mother was lying in the arms of her husband. The woman who had spent most of her life fighting the world was finally at peace, as she rested forever in the arms of the only man she had ever loved. Rory couldn't hold back the tears any longer. They fell freely as she lay her head on the bedspread, the same one that had caught so many of her tears throughout her lifetime.

She finally raised her head, after a very long time and took in the sight of her mother's beautiful face. _I always knew their love was special._ Rory thought. And oddly, she was more at peace with herself than she would have thought possible at the prospect of losing the one person who had meant the world to her. Sighing, she stood up and prepared to leave. Necessary arrangements buzzing through her head, she turned to leave, when a small sliver of white caught her attention. It was an envelope, held in her mother's hand. Shaking, Rory reached out and took it. Slowly, she opened it and started to read.

_My dearest Luke,_

_I never thought this day would come. A day when I was forced to face the prospect of a world without you. You've been here with me for so long, Luke. In my heart. In my head. In everything I see, Luke. You're the voice in my head, you're in every single memory I have, somehow. Even those of the times before I knew you._

_I never knew someone could fill my life like you have, Luke. I never believed all that crap about soul mates and completing each other. And then you magically appeared in my life, hiding your heart of gold behind a baseball cap and a coffee maker of epic proportions. It took me so long to see it, Luke, but you were always there. You were the only guy I could count on to be there through anything and everything. And the moment I realized that, you were there once again, ready and willing to spend your life with me. Luke, I have no idea why you would want to spend your lifetime with someone as imperfect as me, but I'm so glad you did._

_We've had so many years together, and it wasn't all easy. I remember times when I thought I couldn't make it, but somehow I always did. And through everything, you were there, holding my hand. I know I haven't lived a fairy-tale life. But I've come to see that they're over-rated anyway. I can honestly say that I found in you the only things I ever really needed. _

_Luke, when you left me, I had no idea what to do. There are some wounds that you just can't deal with. There are some loves that go too deep for words. I honestly believe that this is what we had, every moment of our lives together. I can't face myself without you, Luke, and I certainly can't face the world. You are my heart, my body, my home. And now, I understand completely how deep love can go. I'm not afraid anymore, Luke, of anything but a life without you. I've had so much to live for, because of all that you've given me. I love you forever, Luke. _

_-Lorelai_

The letter fell out of Rory's hands and drifted softly to the ground. Finally, she understood. It wasn't that she hadn't been enough to keep her mother here. She understood the overwhelming love that her mom and Luke had been blessed with. And for once in her life, she was glad she understood, even though it hurt like hell. She looked at the two people she had loved more than anything as they slept peacefully, holding each other forever. Finally, she understood the strength of their love. Not even death could tear them apart.

Her eyes were drawn back to the envelope as she saw a small corner of yellow paper peeking out. Holding it carefully in her hands, she read faintly the word 'Scorpio'. And in her mother's handwriting, she could barely make out a sentence. _"You will meet an annoying woman today. Give her coffee and she'll go away"_. Rory smiled just a little as she looked once more at the couple. Slipping the horoscope back into the envelope, she placed it back in Lorelai's hand. The letter, she kept, her own personal horoscope, to remind her of an amazing woman, and of an incredible love that knew no boundaries.


End file.
